1. On the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting underway in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from February 21 to 22, Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul had his first trilateral meeting with United States Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamikawa Yoko on February 22 since taking office and discussed Republic of Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation as well as key regional and global issues.

2. The ROK-U.S.-Japan foreign ministerial meeting, the seventh of its kind since the inauguration of the Yoon Suk Yeol government, came merely three months after the one held on the sidelines of the APEC Ministerial Meeting in November of last year.

3. The Ministers reaffirmed that the ROK-U.S.-Japan Summit at Camp David, the U.S., last August had inaugurated a new era of trilateral cooperation, and highly appreciated that the work on institutionalization of the trilateral cooperation and sectoral follow-up measures are well underway through close coordination among the three countries.

4. The Ministers noted that trilateral security cooperation is being extensively enhanced to effectively counter North Korea’s escalating nuclear and missile threats. Based on last year’s achievement, including the full activation of a real-time North Korea missile warning data sharing mechanism, they agreed to further strengthen the three countries’ response capabilities this year. The three sides also agreed to further step up trilateral collaboration in blocking North Korea’s revenue generation funding its nuclear and missile programs such as illicit cyber activities, as well as in promoting human rights in North Korea.

5. The Ministers, emphasizing Russia-North Korea military cooperation as a grave threat to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and beyond, stated that the ROK, the U.S. and Japan will continue to deal sternly with it in coordination with the international community.  The three sides urged North Korea to immediately stop hostile rhetoric and provocations and to return to the path of denuclearization.

6. The Ministers exchanged views on key regional and global issues such as the currently growing instability in the Middle East and the Ukrainian crisis. As the ROK, the U.S. and Japan are concurrently serving as members of the United Nations Security Council this year for the first time in 27 years, the three sides agreed to collaborate more closely with one another in responding to North Korean issues and various other regional and global challenges.

7. The Ministers agreed to remain in close consultation with one another this year. Moreover, they also agreed to further reinforce ROK-U.S.-Japan cooperation through frequent communication among their vice foreign ministers.